Shareholder Urges Amazon Purchase Borders

A billionaire hedge fund manager who owns 30% of Borders Group Inc. said Internet behemoth Amazon.com should acquire the fiscally challenged bookseller.

William Ackerman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, said acquiring Borders' 500 retail locations nationwide would help Amazon diffuse upstart efforts by some cash-strapped states to collect sales tax on e-commerce. The stores would also allow Amazon to offer same-day service in addition to selling non-bookstore product.

"Amazon could buy the company for about $400 million to get those locations that would take more than $1 billion to build," Ackermann told The Associated Press.